The present disclosure relates to the field of portable campfires. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to portable campfires that utilize propane or natural gas for fuel, and do not use any logs, fillers, or water to defuse the gas. This invention is used to replace the ambiance, light, and heat of a traditional wood campfire.
The present invention uses a specially designed burner to produce a flame ball that has the color, look and flame action that will create the appearance of a wood campfire. This device is to be used as a substitute quick and easy no mess portable replacement for a wood fire, for heat, for light, for ambiance, and for cooking. The outdoor camping experience, for most people, is not complete without a fire. The fire is an integral part of space heating, lighting, and food preparation. There are many compressed gas alternatives to a wood fire for cooking, the problem is, that the flames are designed for maximum heat and are blue in color and smaller than a normal wood fire. There are a couple of alternatives for campfire replacement. For example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,289,887, 6,227,843, 5,901,697 and 6,192,881, all use filler/buffer material and/or artificial logs and/or water to defuse the gas and shape the fireball. Since most users watch the fire and not the logs, the logs cause unnecessary problems. By using this invention's burner it is possible to achieve a “wood campfire” look without the defusing material. The defusing systems cause problems in portability (because of loose material, heat retention and carbon buildup) and are relatively large because of the artificial logs. There is a built in limit in available BTU's of heat because the artificial logs retain and concentrate the heat inside of the device and increase the cooling time needed before the device can be packed. The burners that are designed to be used in cooking are not effective in replacing the aesthetics of a wood fire, and the burners that replace the wood fire aesthetics are not efficient for cooking. With the State and Federal regulations that control and curtail the use of normal wood fires because of fire safety, in drought conditions and/or fire pit ash and litter around waterways and lakes, there is getting to be a large need for quick, safe, packable, no-trace, and ecologically sound fire replacement device. This invention is light (under 6 lbs), quickly cooling (packable in under 10 minutes), compact (legs fold for storage), and has no loose parts.